When engaged in winter sports or when working in a snow environment, ones outer clothing often becomes wet from melting snow. This wetness soaks through to under garments which results in discomfort and possible excessive body heat loss. Melted snow may be contacted by sitting on equipment seats, and ski chair lift seats, as well as by falling into the snow. The melted snow soaks through outer garments, particularly in the seat area of pants. Wearing waterproof outer garments is often not an effective solution because such garments are not stylish in appearance. Furthermore, waterproof outer garments do not permit the free flow of air for body ventilation, surface wear renders them non waterproof, and they usually have a slippery surface which is unsafe.
Makeshift garments fashioned from plastic sacks are known and used as rain wear or over shoes for a limited time and then discarded.
French Pat. No. 2437804 teaches that plastic bags may be initially manufactured with tear lines to facilitate secondary usage by recycling as an article of clothing. Specifically this patent teaches that plastic shopping bags be used as baby pants or waterproof trousers. Two problems are apparent when one considers such secondary usage of plastic bags. The first problem is that the bags, in order to be cheap and strong are made to be relatively inelastic and resistant to stretch. Thus the garment, so made tends to bind and pinch in the crotch and at the upper thighs as the garment is forced outward in the abdominal area or at the seat of pants. The second problem is that such plastic clothing is impervious to water vapor as well as to water itself. Often the wearer gets wet from condensate which accumulates inside of the garment with out even coming into contact with wet surfaces.
It is also known in the prior art to form plastic material into the shape of pants for winter sports use such as sliding on snow. Forming the garment into the proper shape not only is expensive but then requires that a large number of garments of varying sizes by kept available in order to adequately serve the consuming public at for example, a ski resort. This reference also does not solve the problem of condensation.
The prior art also teaches reinforcing the groin area of a temporarily worn garment which serves to keep clothing being tried on for size at stores from becoming soiled from contact with the under clothing of a customer. That garments, which are only worn for a short time while outer garments are being tried on for fit and style, requires reinforcing underscores the seriousness of the problem of inelasticity in plastic garments.
Rain coats are subject to fewer localized stretching areas and so can be manufactured in a roll having a plurality of end to end garments which are torn off, one at a time.
Ventilated plastic materials have been proposed in the art but it is more expensive to manufacture than single impervious sheets and therefore are not cost competitive in the market of disposable garments. Use of such materials are not known to have been practiced commercially.
The prior art also contains a variety of teachings in the areas of ventilated pants. None of the known teachings can be considered to be simple enough to cheaply manufacture for dispensing as disposable wear. Furthermore, they do not consider the problems of water soaking through to the under clothing of the wearer nor are they of variable size.